Denounce Rep. My-Linh Thai’s 3/22 speech in Renton

Rep. My-Linh Thai’s speech in Renton on March 22nd not only missed the mark but also divisive. 

Any anti-Asian hate crime is a hate crime, no matter who committed it. And all racism towards Asians is racism.  A recent study based on hate crime data between 1992 and 2014 found Asian Americans have a higher chance of being victimized by non-White offenders when compared to Black and Hispanic people . We need to call out, and bring justice to all anti-Asian hate crimes, not only those that fit certain political agendas. We should bring justice to all victims of hate crimes, not selected some. To make the narrow association between a subgroup of our society and  anti-Asian hate crimes, Rep. Thai completely missed the mark. We strongly oppose Rep. Thai’s use of Asian pains and sufferings for her political agenda.

Also in Rep. Thai’s speech, she asked to focus on the Southeast Asian community, the Pacific Islander community, and the Native Hawaiian community. What about all the other Asian Americans? If you follow the news, many of those hate crimes were carried out against Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans. Rep. Thai’s speech sent a chilly message to the rest of the Asian American community that your life does not matter because you are not one of the chosen few. No, the Asian American community will rally against her divisive view. We stand united to fight for all of the members of our community, and for everyone who is a victim of hate crime.